Heyes and Curry collapsed next to each other at the base of a rock formation. Heyes' heart pounded, and he gasped for breath. Beside him, Curry wasn't in much better shape. He'd been stumbling more and more on their long trek through the desert. Only his iron constitution had kept him going, putting one foot mindlessly in front of the other, but even he was spent.
"What's that?" Curry asked, more to himself than to Heyes. He sensed something was different. Something was new.
"What's what?" Heyes barely had enough breath to speak.
"I hear something." Curry sat up straighter, listening hard.
"You're hearing things."
Curry got up and started scrambling over the rocks, out of Heyes' sight. Heyes didn't have enough strength left to turn and watch him go. His chest heaved, and his throat and mouth throbbed painfully with dryness. He heard Curry shout "Heyes!" The urgency in that cry pulled Heyes to his feet. Somehow he dredged up enough strength to follow Curry. He scrambled over the rocks, tripping and righting himself. As the top, he saw Curry below, diving into a pool of water. All rational thought flew out of him. He ran headlong for the pool, laughing and crying hysterically. He threw himself on the ground next to the pool and lapped up the precious liquid like the desperate animal he'd become. Finally, satiated, he rolled over and screamed "thank you!" to the uncaring sky. Beside him, Curry lay back in the water and drenched himself, laughing and gasping. At least for now, they would live.
00000
Night brought cold temperatures to their barren refuge in the Sangre de Christo Mountains. Heyes and Curry huddled next to each other at the base of the rock formation that surrounded the shallow waterhole.
"Getting' cooler," Curry said. Above them, the broad expanse of the Milky Way cast its pale light.
"Yep," Heyes agreed. His belly growled. He folded his hands over his stomach, willing it to forget how empty it was. Sitting with his back against the stones, he tried to absorb the last heat of the day. His pants almost slid off his hips as he slid back. He needed to tighten his belt, but it seemed like too much trouble to do just now. Maybe he'd do that later. Or tomorrow.
"Wish we had our saddlebags. Or at least our blankets."
"If you're wishing for something, Kid, wish for a couple of horses and some canteens. Then we could get out of here."
"I wish you wouldn't pick on me, Heyes. I was just thinkin' out loud."
"Well, don't. I'm trying to get some sleep here." He rolled over on his side and curled up into a fetal position, trying to get comfortable and failing. Insomnia had troubled him for years, even in the most comfortable bedrooms. Out here, he knew that exhaustion, cold and hunger probably meant another night of little or poor sleep. He closed his eyes and hugged himself, but found little warmth.
"Heyes."
"What."
"We're still in trouble."
Heyes rolled over to look at Curry. "You woke me up to tell me that?"
"You weren't asleep."
"No. No, I wasn't."
"I been thinkin', Heyes." The old joke flashed across Heyes' mind, but he was too tired to mention it.
"I been thinkin'," Curry went on. "We got water, but no canteens, so we got to stay here."
"Yeah. I know."
"We got no food. No blankets for the nights. If somebody tries to rob us, we only got the bullets in our gunbelts."
"Rob us!" Heyes sat up straight. "Kid, who in their right mind would rob us? I mean, look at us! Do we look like we got anything worth stealin'?"
"No," Curry said, thoughtfully. "I guess not. Don't have to worry about robbers, then."
"No, not about robbers anyway."
"Heyes, what're we gonna do?"
Heyes rubbed his eyes with his fists. "I don't know. Maybe if I can get some sleep, I'll think of somethin'."
"Sleep sounds good. Think I'll turn in, too." The two men lay close together, back to back, trying to conserve body heat. It was only a few minutes later that Heyes heard Curry's breathing slow and deepen. Unbelievable. The man really could fall asleep anywhere, anytime. Heyes figured he'd be lucky if he caught more than a couple hours of real sleep. He closed his eyes and resolutely vowed to try.
Heyes' sleep was filled with strange dreams. He'd woken up a couple times with a start, looking around wildly for something that frightened him. There was nothing but the rocks, the desert, the restless wind whistling past, and his partner snoring quietly next to him. He lay down again, snuggling against Curry's warmth. He thought of all the cold nights at Devil's Hole and told himself, this wasn't near as bad. Then he remembered the reality of their situation, and wished he'd never left the Hole. At least then, he had some control of his life. Now, he felt like a speck of dust in this damn wilderness where nothing lived but he and Jed, and that, probably not for long. You could do without food for some time, but they were both already half-starved. How much longer could they last?
He couldn't get these dark thoughts out of his mind. It was almost dawn. Giving up on sleep, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked around. Curry was gone. He remembered what happened to Seth. Panic filled him.
"Kid!" he shouted. "Kid!" His voice caught in his dry throat, and he started coughing. He needed water. He got up on his feet, weaving from side to side, and stumbled to the pool. He got down on his knees and cupped water in his hands, drinking his fill. Satisfied, he sat back on his heels and looked around. Still no sign of Curry.
"Kid!" This time, his voice was louder. "Kid! Where are you?"
"Just a minute!" Curry answered. He sounded far away.
Relieved, Heyes waited. Only a few moments later, he saw Curry circle around the rocks.
"Sheesh, Heyes! Can't a man answer a call of nature in peace?"
"Are you alright?"
Curry came over to Heyes and squatted down next to him. "Aside from no food, no horses, no shelter, I'm fine." He looked closely at Heyes' face. "How you doing? You get any sleep?"
"Aside from no food, no horses, and no shelter, I'm fine, too. I didn't sleep much, though. Trying to work on a plan."
"I got us a plan." Heyes looked expectantly at him.
"You do?"
"Yeah. We wait here for someone to come by and pick us up. They take us to the next town. We borrow or beg for money. We find Danny and I take care of him."
"Oh, that's a fine plan, Kid, real fine. You know what Robert Louis Stevenson said about plans?"
"You know I don't."
"He said, 'the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
"Did he? Well, I guess Danny's gonna find that out real soon."
"Yeah, sure he will." Heyes bent down again to take a few more handfuls of water. When he'd had enough, he splashed water on his face and in his hair. The sun had risen, and the day was already getting hot.
"I admire your perfect faith, Kid, but there's one basic problem with your plan."
"What? That you didn't think of it first?"
"Now don't be like that, Kid. It's just, you're countin' on some mysterious stranger to show up here. A poker player like you should know the odds on that."
"Heyes, you ain't thinkin' clear. How much water is there in the Sangre de Christo besides this? Not much, right? This place has got to be on maps. Somebody's sure to be stoppin' here for water."
"Huh." Heyes stood up, running his fingers through his long hair. "You may be right, Kid. If anybody's fool enough to be out here in the first place."
"They will," Curry said stubbornly. "If we came out here, somebody else will. All we got to do is wait. It won't be long."
Curry stood and put an arm around Heyes' shoulders. He tried to not to show how worried he was about Heyes' weight loss. Slender at the best of times, he looked like a strong wind could carry him off.
"Why don't you get back in the shade and take it easy? Try and get some sleep. We might need your silver tongue when the wagon gets here."
"Maybe I'll rest for a spell. Ain't got nothin' better to do." He flashed a pale imitation of his old smile. He didn't want to admit just how weak and tired he felt. The two men walked together to the dubious shelter of the harsh rocks. Heyes settled down again, adjusting his body till he found a smooth place in the sand. Curry stood over him, watching and frowning.
"I'm alright, Mother. Why don't you go look out for that wagon you're expectin'?"
"I will. Get some rest, Heyes. You look like hell."
There was no good answer to that. Heyes closed his eyes. Maybe he could actually get some sleep, have some happy dreams about steak dinners with potatoes and gravy. But sleep proved elusive again. In dreams, he ran out to the desert, towards a motionless body. But this time, when he rolled the body over, it wasn't Seth; it was Curry. He woke, shaking with fear. Slowly, the nightmare faded away. He squinted up at the sun. It seemed to be descending already. Had he dozed here the whole day? And where was Curry? He stood up too fast and got dizzy. Putting one hand on the rocks to steady himself, he shouted.
"Jed? Where are you?" There was no answer. He tried again, louder. "Jed!"
"Heyes! Get over here!" He ran towards the sound of Curry's voice as quickly as he could, climbing on hands and knees up to the high point on the rock formation where Curry stood, one hand shading his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Heyes asked breathlessly.
"Nothing's wrong. Everything's right. Look out there!" Heyes squinted in the direction Curry pointed. His jaw dropped open in shock. Curry slapped his back, almost knocking him off his feet.
"Didn't I say? I told you somebody'd be comin' real soon, and look!" In the distance, they saw the outline of a wagon, its canvas sides shaking side to side. The afternoon sunlight glinted off the metal on the horses' harnesses. To their amazement, the sound of tinkling bells echoed through the still air.
"Is it real? I mean, is it really real?" Heyes asked. "Not one of them mirage things?"
"Does a mirage make noise? He's heading this way."
"Damn. You were right, Kid. It's the only water for miles around. Someone's got to come sooner or later. And now there he is. Speak of the devil."
"No devil, Heyes. An angel."
Heyes laughed. "Since when did somebody send an angel for broken-down crooks like us?"
Both men stood, staring at the wagon as it slowly moved closer to them. When it arrived at the rocks, they saw a man jump down from the high seat and cross over to help a woman descend. The man went to unhitch the two horses while the woman stood and stretched.
"Let's go down and say hello," Heyes said.
"No, not yet." Heyes looked at Curry curiously. "They get a look at us now, we'll scare them off. Wait until they get the horses unhitched and at the watering hole. They won't be able to run off fast then."
"Another good plan, Kid. Keep it up, and we'll have to switch jobs."
"Never gonna happen, Heyes. Not so long as you do that twisty thing when you shoot."
"I do not do a twisty thing!" Heyes protested. Curry ignored him and started carefully climbing down from their high perch. After one last look at the wagon, Heyes followed him, more slowly. They could hear the new arrivals now, their voices unnaturally loud in the silence of the desert. Opposite the water hole, they stood quietly in the shadows, waiting to speak until both people and horses were drinking.
"Hello there!" Heyes called out. Startled, the couple looked around wildly for the source of the unexpected voice. The horses kept drinking, unconcerned.
"Who's out there?" the man called. "Show yourself!" To Heyes' immense relief, neither newcomer pulled out a gun.
"Boy are we glad to see you!" Curry said. The couple stood with gaping mouths, amazed at the sight of the two bedraggled men approaching them.
"Where'd you two come from?" the man asked.
"Back there," Heyes pointed vaguely in the direction they'd wandered. "We're miners. Got lost trying to get back to town. We just barely made it here."
"Land's sakes!" the woman said. "Where are your horses?"
"Dead," Curry told her. "We lost 'em days ago. We lost everything, trying to walk out of here. We got nothin' but what we're wearin'."
"You mean you don't even have any food?"
"Nothing, ma'am, not even a canteen," Heyes said. "We just barely made it here, where we finally found water. My partner here, Thaddeus, he kept sayin' this place had to be on the map. We been prayin' hard as we could that somebody would come by and help us."
"And so it is," the man said. "The Lord always answers prayers. Maybe not the way we expect, but He always answers. Martha, looks like we have guests for supper. I don't suppose you boys would care to join us for a hot meal?"
"When was the last time you ate?" Martha asked. Heyes and Curry looked at each other, trying to count the days.
"Never you mind," she said. "You're having dinner tonight. And breakfast tomorrow."
"And a ride to town," the man added.
"You'd do that?" Curry asked. The man nodded.
"The Lord moves in mysterious ways, son. Martha and me, we're honored to be the instruments of His will. I'm John Barnes, by the way, and this is my wife Martha."
"Joshua Smith, and this here is my partner, Thaddeus." Nobody but Curry noticed the omission of the surname. He realized that Heyes didn't want to arouse suspicion with the damn fool Smith and Jones aliases.
"We're very grateful, Mr. Barnes," Curry said. "More than you'll ever know."
"We're only following God's law, Thaddeus. Matthew 25: 35 I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."
"You boys sit down before you fall down while I go get the dinner fixin's," Martha said.
"Let me help you, Mrs. Barnes."
"No, Thaddeus, you been through the mill. I hope you don't mind me saying so, but you don't look too good."
"I believe it, Mr. Barnes, but my mother raised me to always help a lady. I'm too old to change now."
"In that case, Thaddeus, you can walk with me and keep me company, but that's all!"
"Yes ma'am." Curry followed her as she strode back towards the wagon. Heyes and John watched them go.
"Joshua, you just sit and rest. Your troubles are all over now. We'll take you two with us, and you'll stay at our mission in town till you're ready to travel again. We'll get you fattened up, too."
"John, I'm beginning to think I'm imagining you. Are you real?"
Barnes laughed. "Yes, Joshua, I'm real."
"What are you doing out here anyway? You sure aren't miners."
"We came looking for you, of course." For a moment, Heyes feared that this gentle man might be a bounty hunter, but John only smiled benignly at him.
"I mean it," John went on. "We minister to the forgotten souls who wander these wastelands. We care for people like you and your friend, who need to be reminded of Christ's love."
"You mentioned your mission? What's that?"
"Martha and I are Missionaries of the Living Christ. Our group runs a small mission in town where we take in men who have lost their way." He winked at Heyes. "Does that sound like a good place for you?" Heyes could only shake his head in amazement.
"Maybe more than you know, John." He watched John move to tether the horses.
"John," Heyes said, seriously. "We'll pay you back for everything. Right now, I don't know how we'll do that, but we will. I mean it."
John nodded, equally serious. "I believe you, Joshua. No hurry, though. Like I said, God moves in mysterious ways. We're just His instruments."
Heyes had no answer for that, so he sat quietly until Curry returned, carrying some firewood, while Martha brought a pot.
"Just beans and ham, but I think you'll like it," she said.
"It's like manna from heaven, ma'am. We're very grateful," Curry told her.
"Now you boys sit while Martha and me get things organized." Heyes was only too happy to oblige. He still couldn't believe that he and Curry were going to live.
"How come you two were out here by your lonesomes?" Martha wondered, fanning the flames that John had started.
"We weren't," Curry said. All three looked at him in surprise. "We came out with a friend, but he left our campsite a couple days before us."
"Well, I'll be. You mean he upped and left you to die?"
"Why'd he leave you two behind?" John wanted to know. Heyes heard suspicion in his voice for the first time.
"He didn't leave us behind exactly," Heyes explained. "He wanted us all to go with him, but we were stubborn. We wanted to dig a while longer. He didn't. Said if we hadn't hit pay dirt yet, we weren't gonna. Thing is, he was the one who'd been this way before. He gave us directions, but we went wrong somewhere."
"You didn't happen to see him?" Curry asked. "Tall, thin, sandy-haired? Smiles a lot?"
Martha and John didn't look happy.
"His name wouldn't happen to be Danny, would it, boys?" John asked.
Heyes and Curry sat up straight and looked at each other, stunned. Heyes found his voice first.
"Speak of the devil. Yeah, it would. But how . . . "
John sat down heavily. "How, in all this emptiness? Strangers search out each other in this wasteland, boys. Yes, we saw him. Just in passing. We talked and went our separate ways."
"And this Danny, he was your friend?" Now even Martha sounded suspicious.
"I don't know if I'd say friend so much," Heyes said. "We only met him a short time before we decided to work a claim."
"Why do you ask, ma'am?" Curry wanted to know. "Did something happen?"
"No, boys," John answered, sighing heavily. "It's just . . . there was something about him made us feel uneasy. Not like you boys. We feel right comfortable with you boys."
"The Lord tells us, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it," Martha said. "It's what we do, after all. We take in strangers. But after this Danny went his way, I remembered something my grandfather used to tell me. He said, 'be careful of anybody who smiles too much.'"
"Do you remember where he said he was going, ma'am?"
"Same place as us." John frowned at his guests. "This was a few days ago, boys. He'll be gone by the time we get there for sure. What are you thinkin'?"
"I'd sure like to catch up with him," Curry said. "He's probably wonderin' if we got out alright. I'd like to look him up, let him know we're still around, thanks to you kind folks."
"Well. I knew you two were good men right off. Even if you did startle us some! I sure wasn't expectin' to find nobody out here."
"Like you said, John, the Lord works in mysterious ways. I guess he had other plans for us."
"Must be something He wants you to do. Do you have any special plans?"
"Yes," Curry said. "There is something special I want to do. Guess now I can. Right, Joshua?"
Heyes only smiled weakly. It was always hard to change Curry's mind when he decided to do something. Now that he had God on his side, Heyes knew that nothing would stop Curry from getting revenge for Seth's lonely death. They would find Danny, and Curry would kill him, and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, Heyes could do to prevent it.